Life after Ichigo
by writerchickgirl
Summary: In killing Aizen, Ichigo ends up dead himself. This is about the other's lives afterwards. This summary sucks, but I didn't want to give a little spoiler! Rated T for language. R&R please!
1. Prologue: Ichigo's Death

**A/N: This chapter is going to be a little shorter than the others, most likely, cuz it's just a quick Prologue, to give you an idea of how Ichigo dies, and what he and Rukia finally admit to each other!**

_I watched in horror as Aizen and Ichigo fell from the sky, blood streaming after them._

"_Ichigo, no!" I Shunpo-ed over to him and caught him before he hit the ground. I let Aizen's body smash against the hard, dry, ground; the bastard deserved it._

_Uryu, Orihime, and Chad saw, too, and rushed over. Uryu got there first, using hirenyaku. I set Ichigo on the ground gently, and felt his light, shallow breathing, saw the blood pouring from a fatal wound in his neck, felt his heart pounding irregularly._

"_Hey Rukia… Ishida…" he managed to say before coughing up blood, as if he wasn't losing enough already._

"_Kurosaki, don't," Uryu said. "You might strain yourself and die before Orihime gets here."_

_Just then, Orihime and Chad caught up. As soon as she saw Ichigo's wound, Orihime screamed, "Soten Kesshun, I reject!"_

_A yellowish shield appeared above Ichigo, and I sighed in relief. It was going to be alright; Orihime was going to be able to heal him._

_But something was wrong; Ichigo's wounds weren't healing. The blood still stained the ground bright red._

"_Why isn't it working?!" Orihime screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. _

_Ichigo lifted up his head, "Aizen's… Bankai…" His whispers were barely audible, so we all had to strain to hear him. "Doesn't… improve… hypnosis… adds to it… makes it… so wounds… can't be…" here Ichigo coughed up more blood. "Can't be… healed… by Kido… or any… spiritual… means." Ichigo dropped his head on the ground and coughed up more blood, exhausted._

_The rest of us looked on in horror; that meant that unless some miracle happened, Ichigo would die._

"_Kuro- Ichigo." Uryu said, addressing Ichigo for the first time his first name._

"_Heh, Uryu… you were… a good… friendly rival."_

"_Ichi—"_

"_Chad… guess we can't… watch… each other's… backs… anymore."_

_I knew what everyone else was thinking as he said those words, because I was thinking the exact same thing: _That's because you won't be here much longer.

"_Orihime…"_

"_Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime paused and amended. "Ichigo!"_

"_Thanks… for everything… you've done… for us… you've helped so… many people."_

_But she couldn't save _you_, Ichigo!_

_Ichigo was getting weaker, he was losing a lot of blood, and the fact that he was still alive and talking was amazing._

"_Rukia…"_

_I couldn't bear this. How was he so calm about this? He was about to die, yet he smiled and talked like he had years to waste!_

"_Ichigo, idiot! If you weren't about to… about to die, I would punch you in the face. Why are you so calm, why do you act like this is nothing more than a temporary farewell?!"_

_Ichigo looked at me, sadness in his eyes. "Do you… suggest… I mope and wail… complain… about how I… didn't get… a chance to… live life… to the fullest? And Rukia… this _is_ just… a temporary… farewell. Do you… know for… a fact that… we won't… see each other… on the… other side?"_

"_But, Ichigo… I… I love you."_

"_I… love you… too."_

_With that, Ichigo sighed and a great shudder went through his body._

_He was dead._

"_NO!" I screeched, shaking him. "Ichi… Ichigo! No, no, no…"_

"_Oi, Ichigo!" Renji called, Shunpo-ing towards us. "Wha… why didn't you heal him?!"_

"_We couldn't." Orihime's voice was muffled._

"_Why not?!"_

"_Aizen's Bankai," Uryu said, but his voice sounded flat, dead._

"_Huh?!"_

"_Later, Renji."_

_I stared at Ichigo, the man I had loved. "Of course, the man _I_ loved would die." I muttered bitterly._

_Rain started to fall, washing away the blood, drenching me. I stayed right where I was, beside Ichigo. I refused to let anyone heal my wounds. The war was over; we had won. So why did I feel so lost?_

_Ichigo…_

_Ichigo…_

_Goodbye._

**A/N: So please, tell me what you guyses* think! R&R, and I know Aizen's Bankai was a little weird considering his Shikai, but I wanted Ichigo to have a few last words with his friends without being healed.**

***I'm well aware that "guyses" is not in the dictionary. However, it **_is_** in my dictionary, so it counts. HA!**


	2. Chapter 1: Birth

**A/N: Just in case anyone's wondering, Ichigo's death was literally Rukia's nightmare. She is just now waking up from it. And thanks to xwhitemoonx and Serami Nefera for reviewing! Although Serami Nefera, sadly, Ichigo died in his Shinigami body, so he's really gone... although I might work around that and bring him back anywho cuz he's just that cool.**

**WARNING: This chapter is the one and only chapter with _sexual inuendos_(I have absolutely no idea if I spelled that right...) If you hate that, skip the part that's entirely in italics. It's a flashback of Rukia's to the night before Ichigo dies.**

A jolt of pain brought Rukia out of her nightmare. Her huge stomach distended, and she gave another cry. One of the guards outside her room heard her and called for Isane Kotetsu, the Lieutenant of the fourth division. She was her personal caretaker during her pregnancy.

"Isane-san! Kuchiki-san is going into labor!" Rukia wondered briefly if it was a bad omen that she had dreamed of Ichigo's death before giving birth to his child.

_His_ child.

***

"_Rukia…" Ichigo stood beside her, looking down serenely at her face._

"_Ichi… Ichigo, I-I love you."_

"_I…" For a moment, Rukia was scared that he was going to reject her. "I love you too."_

_He leaned over, his face nearing hers… and their lips met._

"_Ichigo… tomorrow is when this war ends, for good or for bad." Rukia searched his face. "In case we die…"_

_Ichigo put a finger to her lips. "I won't let you die, Rukia."_

"_Please, Ichigo. Please, for me."_

_After a moments' hesitation, Ichigo nodded. "Alright."_

_Together they fell on the bed._

***

Another wave of pain rippled through her small frame. There was blood, but not enough to worry about, according to Isane.

"Ask Captain Ukitake to send a message to the World of the Living. Tell him to ask for Uryu Ishida, Orihime Inoue, Chad Yasutora, Tatsuki Arisawa, Isshin Kurosaki, Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki, Keigo Asano, and Mizuiro*," Isane ordered.

Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro had been waiting for the human group to return from saving Orihime (as well as the world) at Urahara's shop. They had demanded to know everything, especially Tatsuki. Eventually, they were allowed to come to the Soul Society, although their powers were still relatively weak. They all were spiritually aware(obviously), Tatsuki could use Shunpo in her human body, Keigo had yet to show any special powers other than annoying people to death, and Mizuiro could make hollows fall asleep for up to a minute by making eye contact. All of Ichigo's friends and family came regularly to check on the baby.

Isshin Kurosaki had revealed himself to be a former Gotei 13 Captain, but refused to say why he left other than: "I fell in love with Masaki and changed my name so I wouldn't be recognized." The girls were told about shinigami shortly after Ichigo's death, in order to explain what happened.

The guard nodded. "Right away, Lieutenant Kotetsu!" The guard was skilled enough to know Shunpo, so he used it to get to the thirteenth division barracks as soon as possible.

"You're doing good, Rukia," Isane said gently, resting a hand on Rukia's contracting stomach. The life that was coming out of it had been the only thing that had kept her going after Ichigo's death. Isane prayed for a good birth; she doubted Rukia could take it if their baby didn't make it (**A/N: Notice the rhyme? Ha! I'm a poet and I didn't know it!**).

Rukia cried out in pain again.

_Please let this be over soon!_

***

Uryu, Orihime, Chad, Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, Isshin, Yuzu, and Karin were headed towards the Kuchiki estate, escorted by Renji, the new Captain of the Ninth Division. They were silent, with a bittersweet air of excitement and sadness around them. Uryu's father, Ryuuken, had decided that Uryu was to be freed from his bargain with his father, because of Ichigo and his sacrifice. While eagerly anticipating Ichigo's baby, they were all thinking of the man whose name was spoken throughout the Soul Society with a kind of reverence, the sort of deep respect that would've driven him crazy. They all had a feeling that his child would be treated the same way.

They arrived at the Kuchiki grounds soon and were held at bay by guards.

"No one but Isane Kotetsu is allowed to see Kuchiki-san right now!" they were told.

Reluctantly, they settled down to wait.

***

Twelve hours later, Rukia had finally finished giving birth. It took about fifteen to twenty minutes for her to get cleaned up and put in bed (where she was supposed to stay for the next week, much to her dismay). It wasn't until then that the others were allowed in.

"How are you, Rukia-sa-an?" Keigo asked, sidling up to her, and was rewarded with a kick in the head, courtesy of Tatsuki.

"Moron," she said. "Don't you know that Rukia isn't interested in you by know?"

Rukia smiled thinly. "I'm fine, Keigo."

"So-o-o, tell us!" Isshin exclaimed. "Which is it, a boy or a girl?" Due to the fact that ultrasounds did not exist in the Soul Society, they had to find out the old fashioned way.

"It's a boy," Rukia stated, and held out her arms so they could see. A small, wrinkly, pink baby boy rested in them.

There was a collective gasp as the group stared at him. His eyes were indigo, the same shade as their mother's, but that wasn't the reason for their gasp. What little tufts of hair he had were bright orange, the exact same shade as Ichigo's. In fact, the only features he seemed to have inherited from his mother were his eyes. Somehow, this odd combination looked good.

"Have you thought of a name for him yet?" Orihime asked. Rukia nodded.

"His name is Mizuno, but I'm going to have him keep the name Kuchiki instead of Kurosaki."

"Huh?" Yuzu and Karin both asked, looking somewhat hurt. Isshin, however, was nodding.

"That way, growing up, he won't be affected by who his f-father was," Rukia choked a little on the word. "Having a famous hero for a f-father won't affect him, because he won't know it."

"But other people will," Uryu pointed out. "And they will undoubtedly treat like the son of a god or something similar."

"I thought of that, too. I've decided that I'm going to only allow him to associate with people who knew I-Ichigo," Rukia paused, swallowed, and continued teary-eyed, "So that when he's still young, he won't be absorbed into the fame of his f-father. Those people that knew Ichi… Ichigo well enough that they wouldn't be awed by him should treat Mizuno the same way."

As if reacting to his name, Mizuno burped.

There was silence for a moment, then they all started to laugh.

When they had stopped Isshin looked down at the ground. "You know, today would've been his 16th birthday."

They all fell back into silence. They didn't ask who 'he' was. They all knew. He had died so painfully young, had given his life for the sake of others… it just didn't seem fair. He didn't deserve to die.

A while later, all those from the World of the Living left, leaving Renji, Rukia, and little Mizuno.

"Oh, by the way Rukia, I've decided who my Lieutenant is going to be." Even though he'd been a Captain for nine months, he had yet to choose a Lieutenant.

"That's great Renji! Who is it?"

"You." Renji paused. "If you please."

Rukia eyes widened. "M-m-me?"

"Well, if you don't want it…"

"I do, but what about Nii-sama?"

"Captain Kuchiki? I already talked to him about it. He said it was fine." Renji scratched his head. "To quote him directly, he said, 'I have held Rukia back for far too long. She is now free to do as she wishes where it concerns her alone.' I'm assuming that means he's allowing you."

"That's great!" Rukia was thrilled; she had never even been a seated officer before. Becoming a Lieutenant was a huge achievement.

"Good." Renji became business-like. "Then I'll see you at the Ninth Division barracks in a week."

Rukia nodded. Maybe life would get better from here.

Ichigo would be so happy for her.

**A/N: Aw, poor Ruki... but at least she gets to be Lieutenant! Meanwhile, (review) what about Mizuno? What power could he have inheirted from his father(review to find out)? Find out in the next chapter (and just a hint, review). In the meantime, while you're waiting, you could make a cup of coffee, play some cards, or, I don't know, REVIEW?!**

***Call me lazy (which I am, extremely so) but I only know Mizuiro's first name and don't feel like looking his name up. Or is it his last? Meh, Japanese names confuzzle me.**

**_REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_**

**Thank you for you time. See you when I post again, after you review!**


	3. Chapter 2: Curiosity

**A/N: Wow, I'm updating fast. Two days, three chapters. 'Course, it is Spring Break. After this, my updates will slow comsiderably, due to that fact that I'm going down to Florida for Easter and then school(bleh) starts again. And thanks go to Chibiussa for the review. To answer your/your cousin's question, I'm still debating whether Ichigo comes back at all. If he does, however, you gave me an interesting idea. Most likely I'd leave Ichigo's memories intact, but Mizuno ignorant of the fact that he and Ichigo are related. Thanks for the idea!**

**~WCG**

The next day, Rukia, who was still bedridden, was visited by none other than Captain Byakuya Kuchiki.

"N-nii-sama!" She stuttered, clutching Mizuno. "What are you doing here?"

Byakuya gave a slight smile, a huge display of emotion, coming from him. "I've come to see the new baby, of course. I heard that you were going to keep him confined to a certain crowd of people, no?"

"I-it's not like that! I just don't want him to be affected by who his f-father w-was and—,"

Byakuya held his hand up in a gesture that clearly meant "stop". "I understand completely why you would do it. In your position, I would do the same thing." Byakuya looked at her hard. "However, he _will_ find out about his father eventually, and when he does, he will have to make his own decision."

"About what?"

"About who _he_ is, not who his father was. He will likely be revered for his father, but there has to come a time when he becomes someone other than his father." Byakuya started to leave, but then turned back. "Try to help him be his own person, but still just as good as his father. Ichigo Kurosaki was a better man than I ever was, a better man than any I have ever known. I may not have liked him, but I knew he was true, and he was a valuable partner. I wish…" Byakuya paused. "I wish I had known him better."

With that, he left.

Byakuya's speech had revealed things about her brother that she had never known. She was surprised that he had shown as much of himself to her as he had. Rukia had never realized her brother thought so well of Ichigo, and she certainly never knew he thought Ichigo was better than him. For some reason, she started to cry silently, bittersweet tears. Even though Byakuya's spiel had lightened her heart, she knew that Ichigo would never be able to know what Byakuya had said. He was gone. Gone.

Gone.

***

_7 years later…_

"Mom! Mom! Toshiro said he was going to teach me a new Kido spell!" 10 year old Mizuno raced up to his mother on his short little legs. "Please, please, _please_ can I go with him?"

Rukia Kuchiki sighed and looked down at Mizuno's bright and hopeful indigo eyes. For some reason, all the Captains not only tolerated Mizuno's lack of formality by calling them by their first name only, they seemed to enjoy it. Ichigo had been just as informal, and it had annoyed some of them, especially Captain Hitsugaya, to no end. All of the Captains, Lieutenants, and seated officers Mizuno was allowed to mingle with could never seem to actually berate him for anything. She herself could not help but indulge him in most everything he wanted. He was a lot like Ichigo, only a little more… happy? Open and somewhat immature?

"Alright, but go with Kioko. I feel better when you aren't on your own."

"Aw, but Kioko is so _annoying_! Why can't I do stuff on my own?" Mizuno pouted.

"You _are_ a noble," Rukia reminded him. "And besides, Kioko _is_ Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Hinamori's daughter. He might be offended if you refused Kioko like that." Toshiro Hitsugaya and Momo Hinamori had had their daughter not long after Rukia had Mizuno. They had finally gotten married, and everyone agreed it was about time.

Mizuno looked like he wanted to say more, but closed his mouth and decided better of it after catching the stern look in his mother's eyes.

"Run along, and find Kioko!" His mother called after his scampering figure.

"How is he?" Renji's voice came from behind Rukia, startling her.

"Geez, Renji, scare me half to death, why dontcha?" Rukia glared at him, causing him to chuckle.

"Surely my Lieutenant is capable of sensing me when I come up?" Renji laughed at her bright red face.

"Oh, shut up, Renji." His moment of fun earned him a punch in the face.

"Damn, you have no sense of respect for your superiors, do you?" Renji rubbed his sore jaw

"You aren't _superior_ to me."

"Then why am I a Captain with you as my _sub_ordinate?"

"Did you have some other reason for coming over here than taunting me?" Rukia was seriously getting annoyed by this point.

Renji rubbed his head. "Well, I did kinda already say this…" he was interrupted by Rukia's elbow, which rammed into his stomach.

"Ow! Geez, Rukia, what was that for?"

"Just get to the point."

"How is he?" The question turned the atmosphere somewhat quiet, somber, almost.

"He… he's doing well, but…" Rukia paused. "Yesterday, he was constantly asking me questions."

"About… him?" Rukia nodded.

"He wanted to know everything: what was he like? What color eyes did he have? What color hair did he have? Where is he? Who was he?" Rukia felt tears spring to her eyes. "I could answer the first few, but then he started asking about who he was… I couldn't tell him. I told him to wait until he was older, but I don't know how much longer I can hold him off. He knows, in a way, who his father is, he just doesn't realize that he's connected to him. I-Ichigo's just an idol to him, someone to admire, not to know, to connect with."

Renji looked at her. "It's a good thing he's friends with Kioko, though. She's about the only person, other than himself, who doesn't know who his father is."

Rukia smiled sadly. "They aren't exactly friends, though. According to him, Kioko annoys him to no end."

The two friends laughed a little at that, but their laughs were hollow, fake. Renji knew that the only reason that Rukia even bothered trying to live was Mizuno. Partly because of that, and partly because he just liked Mizuno, Renji would never let anything happen to him, not if there was anything he could do about it.

"Rukia, there's a pile of paperwork on your desk." Renji gave his friend a sly grin. "You might want to get to work on that." He Shunpo-ed away.

"Thanks." Rukia muttered before sitting at her desk and sorting through it all. Looking at the size of it all, she would probably be working after Mizuno was done with Captain Hitsugaya. Sighing, she got to work.

***

Mizuno Kuchiki, meanwhile, was practicing the hardest Kido spell he had tried so far: Hado #63: Raikoho. He had proved himself to be prolific at all the Kido spells, and some said his skills would soon rival Lieutenant Hinamori's, the best user of Kido in the Seireitei, something which made him burst with pride whenever he heard it. However, he was still only seven years old, and this _was_ a level 63 Hado spell. Even using the incantation, he hadn't managed to get it completely right.

"Bone of a straggling beast, spire, crimson crystal, disc of steel, when the wind shifts, and the emptiness ceases, let the clash of lances resonate through the relinquished castle. Hado #63! Raikoho!" he shouted, aiming for a target at the end of the practice ground he was training. He managed to fire the thunderous blast, and hit the rim of the target. He looked to see how Kioko was doing and smirked. She had hit a tree way behind the target. See Mizuno's look, she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Dad? Why do we always have to do stuff together? He's so… so arrogant!" Hearing his daughter complain, Toshiro Hitsugaya had a feeling that Rukia Kuchiki had been very wise in not telling Mizuno about his father. He would probably be extremely unpleasant to be around.

"Because I said so," Captain Hitsugaya said tiredly. He inspected their work. "Now, both of you did very well. To even manage to _fire_ such a high level of Kido at such a young age is very impressive."

"Yeah," Mizuno mumbled. "Only _I_ actually hit the target."

Ignoring Mizuno's comment, Captain Hitsugaya continued. "Now, to work on your aim, first…" his voice trailed off.

"What is it, Toshiro?"Mizuno asked. He followed Toshiro's gaze and saw a group of Shinigami trainees, decked out in Academy attire.

"Damn!" Hitsugaya swore under his breath. "I forgot they were coming to practice today. Come on, Mizuno, Kioko."

"Huh? Why? I wanna see this! It looks interesting!" Kioko pleaded. For once, Mizuno agreed with her.

"Please, Toshiro? I've never seen Shinigami in training! I never get to see anyone other than the Captains, Lieutenants, and some third and fourth seats!" Mizuno added.

"No." Captain Hitsugaya said forcefully. "We're leaving. _Now_."

The fact that Captain Hitsugaya was being so _pushy _in order to make sure they got out of there quickly intrigued both Mizuno and Kioko. But an unspoken agreement, they decided to make it as hard as they could to make the trainees catch up with them.

As soon as the Academy members caught sight of them, whispers flowed through the crowd. Mizuno heard several little snippets.

"_Do you see him?"_

"_I wonder if I could go talk to him…"_

"_Wow, look at his hair! I hear it's just like his father's…"_

"_Some people say his skills will surpass his father's because he can use Kido…"_

The last two whispers he heard before Toshiro forcibly led them away disturbed him. How was it that everyone _but him_ knew who his father was? Nobody would tell him anything! Not a name, not why he wasn't there, nothing! Apparently, his father was a big figure in the Soul Society, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out who it could be. The only really big figures he could think of were the Captains and he knew it couldn't be any of them; his hair was nothing like _any_ of the Captains, and most of them could use Kido anyways. Kenpachi was the only exception.

Toshiro took his daughter home and brought Mizuno back to the Kuchiki household.

"Stay here," he ordered, and left.

Mizuno sat by the fountain in the courtyard, brooding. He _would_ find out just who his father was. And if no one else would tell him, he'd find out for himself.

**A/N: I had a lot of trouble ending this chapter. I knew I wanted to stop there, I just couldn't figure out how to word it. So if you think it sucks... you can tell me in a (come one, you know this) REVIEW!**

**Seriously, I love reviews. They get me to sleep at night.**

**~WCG**


	4. Author's note

**A/N: Ok, so this isn't a chapter, but before I post the next one (which might be a while, seeing as I'm currently in Florida and no longer have an indefinite amount of time on the computer cuz school's starting on Monday) I want a quick poll from the people who are reading it. I read a review that said Mizuno's named sucked, so if you think his name should be changed or not, put that in a review and let me know! Also, if you vote yes, change it, and if you have an idea for a name, let me hear it. I'm not at all attached to the name Mizuno, cuz I came up with it lying in bed one night. So, either review (and if you do this, why not comment on the story if you haven't already? *wink wink, nudge nudge*) or PM me.**

**And the debate inside my head, mentioned in previous A/Ns, has finally ended. Will Ichigo come back or not? Well, if I told you, it'd completely ruin the suspense! So keep reading, and find out.**

**~WCG**


	5. Chapter 3: Back to the Living

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up! More than two weeks, and my excuses (yeah, multiple ones)aren't very good. All I have to say is that:**

**A) I've been pretty busy with school and crap.**

**B) I was suffering from a severe case of Writer's Block (symptoms of which are lack of creative input, mild trauma from crappy attempts at writing, and mucho frustration. Best medicine: step back and try again later)**

**C) I got mega lazy.**

**Ok, so most of reviews that had an opinion on the name of Ichigo and Rukia's child said it sucked, and since I live to please and could care less about the name "Mizuno", I am changing it to ****Takehiko, which means "hero prince", which works cuz Ichigo's a mega-hero and Rukia **_**is**_** nobility (although not royalty). If that sucks too, tell me, since clearly I'm not the best at name choosing, although admittedly I made up Mizuno lying in bed one night. I'm too lazy to go back and change the name in previous chapters, but just know that from now on his name is Takehiko.**

**For people who say that it is **_**my**_** story, so I shouldn't change the name, thanks, seriously. If I actually felt some sort of **_**attachment**_** to the name "Mizuno", I would totally keep it, no matter what people said. But, like I said, I dun care about the name in the least, so I will do my best to please my lovely readers!**

**Looking back, I also noticed a couple typos. In case anyone was wondering Kioko and Takehiko are 7 years old. I accidently put 10 at one point cuz that had been my original intended age for them. And Takehiko was born on Ichigo's 18****th**** birthday, not his 16****th****.**

**This chapter is going to finally take us back to the world of the living to visit Orihime, Uryu, Chad, Tatsuki, Keigo, etc. (and in case anyone notices this, there is a minor time glitch with the age of Orihime and Uryu's babies. I DUN CARE!) Btw, the beginning of this is somewhat plain and boring. SSSSSOOOOORRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYY!!!!!!**

**~WCG**

**P.S. I had completely forgotten that disclaimers exist, but just sos you know, the following disclaimer applies to all previous chapters and next chapters as well, cuz I dun feel like putting it on every post.**

**Disclaimer: Bleach, sadly, does not belong to me. Only my OC's(which are amazing!) belong to me.**

**(wow, long A/N)**

Yasuo and Sachiko, Orihime and Uryu's 6 year old twins, were considered geniuses.

Yasuo, a boy, and Sachiko, a girl, were in their first year of grade school (**A/N: I don't know about Japanese schools… so correct me if I'm wrong here about this school… I'm too lazy to look it up myself**) and already knew how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, even with variables, better than most fifth graders (**A/N: I'm basing this off of American schools…**). They read books as thick as their wrists in their spare time.

To them, school was the most boring point of their existence.

But then again, their father was the co-owner (along with their grandfather) of the largest medical corporation in Japan and also happened to be a Quincy. Their mother stayed at home with them, and she had some unusual skill of her own. Their parents' friends were all spiritually aware, some with exceptional talents, especially Chad. They saw spirits everyday of their lives, along with Hollows that their parents and friends dispatched. They often had training sessions with an extremely complex, strange man named Urahara Kisuke and a shape-shifting woman named Yoruichi Shihouin (Sachiko had inherited the powers of a Quincy; Yasuo's powers were like his mother's with some minor differences: they focused more on attack than defense. Their bedtime stories consisted of topics such as the Winter War and Ichigo Kurosaki, hero of the Soul Society and the living world (not that most of the living world _knew _that).

Compared to all that, school was the most unnecessary thing in their lives.

Not only was school pointless and boring, but miserable as well. Both Yasuo and Sachiko, while being capable of taking care of themselves quite well, courtesy of Yoruichi and Urahara's training, were constantly picked on for their brilliance. They words they didn't mind; they thought (correctly so) that the opinions of people like that weren't worth shit **(A/N: 6 year old potty-mouths…)**. But the physical blows were really annoying. A lot of times, kids much bigger than themselves would gang up on them, and since they couldn't exactly broadcast to the world that at six years of age the twins could beat the snot out of six or seven fifth graders twice their size, they had to allow themselves to be hurt. Not that they complained, but it was still annoying as hell, the constant bruises and scabs and such.

No one wanted to befriend the two and risk their many enemies' anger to be turned on them, so aside from each other, the two were completely alone.

Not exactly years that they would cherish.

Yasuo and Sachiko were walking slowly along, taking their sweet time in getting to school. They always got there with seconds to go before the bell and left seconds before the bell. Evasion was the best tactic, for them. The teachers never minded. Yasuo and Sachiko deserved to be in the fifth grade, they all knew, but Orihime and Uryu wanted them to grow up normally. Even though they so obviously were _not_ normal.

Getting there in the nick of time, Yasuo and Sachiko took their adjacent seats and pulled out their books. Today was the last day of school before a short break, and they were going to the Soul Society for the first time. They had heard about it many times before, and about Takehiko, Rukia Kuchiki, and Renji Abarai, their parents' friends there. Orihime and Uryu had gone several times before, along with Chad, Tatsuki, Mizuiro, Keigo, Isshin Kurosaki (who was getting pretty old by this point), Yuzu, and Karin, but they were finally bringing their son and daughter.

Yasuo kept glancing at the clock, desperate for the day to end. The seconds ticked by painfully slowly, and Yasuo was not a very patient boy. Sachiko looked much calmer, slipping behind a wall. The two were so impossibly different, yet managed to get along perfectly; Yasuo had a tendency to show his emotions no matter what, whether he wanted to or not. Sachiko had trouble showing her feelings to anyone but Yasuo.

"Class! We have a new transfer student today! I hope you all are nice to her, because she just came here all the way from America and most likely doesn't know much Japanese **(A/N: I love foreign exchange students! They're so much fun to write! Btw, I dunno what her role will be yet. Maybe major, maybe minor.)**" The teacher looked around at the class. "In English, her name would be Caitlyn **(A/N: I love the name, so I decided to put in the English form as well as the Japanese… and I'll stop with the a/ns now)** but she has chosen to go by Keitorin. Please treat her like you would anyone else." She opened the door to reveal a tall, lanky girl with flashing emerald eyes and fiery red hair. _Really _red hair. In a "is that a fire or is that your hair?" kind of way.

"Sachiko Ishida, would you mind if Keitorin took the seat beside you?"

"What?" Sachiko was startled out of her daze. She had been imagining the Soul Society, and Takehiko, and all her parents' friends there, wondering what they would be like. Realizing what her teacher had said, she answered, "Um… no, I wouldn't mind."

"Good." The teacher nodded and turned to the board to continue the lesson. It was just after lunch. Could the day possibly go by any slower? Both Sachiko and Yasuo thought this at the same time.

"Sachiko, right?" Keitorin whispered. Her Japanese seemed pretty good; she had only a hint of an accent.

"Yeah, that's me," Sachiko whispered back, unsure where this was going.

"Could you help me with this? I'm not very good with writing Japanese. I can speak it okay, obviously, but these characters confuse me."

Sachiko smiled, glad to have been given the chance to do something at least mildly interesting. She helped Keitorin with the math; while Keitorin was exemplary at math, much like Sachiko herself, the Japanese version was extremely annoying for her.

Yasuo watched his sister a little enviously, an emotion written across his face, wishing he had something to do. He watched his sister and the new Red-Haired Kid whose name escaped him interact and, despite his jealousy, he was somewhat excited; finally, a kid who seemed to have no problem with them!

When school finally ended, Yasuo, Sachiko, and Keitorin (who had become friends with Sachiko through their whispered conversation) walked home together.

Suddenly, Yasuo stiffened and groaned. "Oh, no."

Behind them, there was a mob stalking them.

_Today of all days!_ Yasuo and Sachiko thought.

"What is it?" Keitorin asked. The six year old turned and saw the group of about seven third and fourth graders. "Woah. Geez. What's _their_ problem?"

"Us," Yasuo said grimly.

"They went to all this trouble for you? What'd you do to make them so mad?"

"We existed." Sachiko said bluntly.

Keitorin looked affronted. "What? That doesn't make any sense!"

"Tell that to _them_."

The mob had neared and was five feet away. Yasuo and Sachiko saw no point in evading the mob; they'd just find them sometime later and beat them that much harder. Keitorin, however, had something on her mind.

She wasn't going to just _let_ them walk all over her. Strong-willed and extremely tough, even at six, she was going to make a stand.

She stood just like Sachiko and Yasuo, hunched and scared, but actually tense and prepared. As they started taunting them and tried to hit Sachiko, Keitorin jumped forward and blocked the punch, much to the surprise of everyone else, including Yasuo and Sachiko. As the abnormally well-muscled fourth grader drew back his fist, Keitorin delivered a punch of her own, straight to his face, breaking his nose and spewing blood all over.

"What kind of freak are you?!?" he gasped, scrambling to his feet, aided by the other mob-members.

"The kind that has a brain rather than just muscles!" Keitorin shouted back, turning and kneeing a third-grader that had tried to come up behind her and punching another in the face in one fluid motion.

Cowards that they were, the group scattered running scared from a six year old girl.

"Pathetic," Keitorin growled, massaging her sore knuckles.

"What… what was that?" Yasuo stuttered.

"Tae-Kwon-Do," was the reply. "Been taking it since I was 3."

"Come on," Sachiko looked at her friend with quiet awe. "Let's go home."


	6. Author's Note 2: SORRY!

**A/N: Okay, I'm really sorry to all the people who've been reviewing and reading this story and being so wonderful, but I have just lost my inspiration. So, I'm putting it *officially* on hiatus (although it's basically been on hiatus for a while... ^^)**

**Once again, I'm very sorry, but until I figure out how to continue this, or whether I should continue it at all (because it doesn't look so good anymore...) I will be working on something else for a completely different section, Maximum Ride. If you still want to read something and have read Max Ride, be my guest.**

**WCG**


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